20110421
presstv
The UN human rights chief condemns the reported use of cluster bombs by the Libyan regime forces against besieged civilians in the northwestern city of Misratah.

"Using imprecise weaponry such as cluster munitions, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, and other forms of heavy weaponry, in crowded urban areas will inevitably lead to civilian casualties," Xinhua news agency quoted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay as saying on Wednesday.

Fierce fighting rages on between troops loyal to Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi and revolutionary forces while the situation is deteriorating in Misratah.

The city's population of more than half a million suffer shortages of food, water and medical supplies as the result of a six-week siege by Gaddafi loyalists.

On April 15, Human Rights Watch reported the use of cluster bombs by Gaddafi forces to hit residential areas in Misratah, citing local residents, who suspected four cluster bombs, including Spanish-produced MAT-120 120mm mortar projectiles, had exploded in the Libyan city.

"They (cluster bombs) pose a huge risk to civilians, both during attacks, because of their indiscriminate nature, and afterward because of the still-dangerous unexploded duds scattered about," said Steve Goose, the arms division director of the US-based organization.

The Libyan regime has flatly denied reports that they have used internationally banned cluster bombs in the ongoing clashes with revolutionaries.

Meanwhile, the UN human rights chief called on the Libyan regime to halt their crippling siege on Misratah, warning that such acts would not go unnoticed in the eyes of the United Nations and that they will be subject to criminal investigations.

"I urge the Libyan authorities to face the reality that they are digging themselves and the Libyan population deeper and deeper into the quagmire. They must halt the siege of Misratah and allow aid and medical care to reach the victims of the conflict," Pillay said in a news release.

"The pro-government forces besieging the city, including their commanders and all other personnel, should be aware that - with the International Criminal Court investigating possible crimes -- their orders and actions will be subject to intense scrutiny," she added.

Criticism has heaped on NATO over its failure to protect civilians and avoid human losses at time when pro-Gaddafi forces, who seem to have changed their tactics on the battlegrounds, are struggling to advance further into the opposition-controlled cities in the east.